fitch



F. M- FITCH.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR OPERATING DAMPERS.

APPLICATION FILED 11mm. 1919.

,1 355,135. Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

F. M. FITCH. SAFETY DEVICE FOR OPERATING DAMPERS.

V APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23,19|9 1,355,135. Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wk y UNITED I STVATEQS,"

i''A'rsu r OFFICE.

FRANK M. rrrcn, or .iansr :snnrronn cdnnncrrcur.

To allwhomitmag concem. j, Be it-known that'l, FRANK M. FrrcH, a citizenof the United States,-and a .resident of East Hartford, in the county ofHartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain -new and usefulImprovements in Safety Devices for Operating Dampers, of which thefollowing is Easpecificatio'm I I My invention relatesto the class ofdevices employed for operating the dampers of heaters of various sortsand especially those employed for heating dwellings, and an object oi;my invention, among others, is'to provide a device of thisclass thatshall be extremely. simple in itsconstruction, effective in operation,and especiallyone that shall obviate danger of excessive heating afteradamper has once-been opened.

One form .of device embodying my invention and in the construction anduse of which the objects hereinset out, aswell as others, may beattained, is illustrated in th accompanying drawings, in whichiFigure 1. is a diagrammatic view' illustrating the construction andoperation of my improved apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a detail view illustrating a portion of the motor and itsoperation.

Fig. 3 is a detail view further illustrating the construction of theoperating motor.

Fig. 4 is a detail view, scale enlarged, illustrating the means forconnecting the pendulum with the driving wheel of the motor.

Fig. 5 is a detail view, scale enlarged, illustrating the damper and themechanism appurtenant thereto;

Fig. 6 is a detail view, scale still further enlarged, illustrating themeans for holding the damper in its closed position, and for releasingit to permit it to open.

Fig. 7 is a detail view, scale enlarged, illustrating mechanism foroperating the controller and operated by it, the controller being shownin edge view.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the controller and connected parts.

' Fig: 9 is a detail view, scale enlarged over Figs. 7 and 8,illustrating the controller catch and a cut-out appurtenant to thecontroller.

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are detail views illustrating the mechanism forretaining the damper in its closed position and for releasing it topermit it to open.

sam'rr nnvicn roza ornnni'nie' namrnns. i

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentd Oct. 12, 1920.

' Application filed January 23,1319. j Serial No. 272,688.

My improved apparatus may be attached tofurnaces of various types, ithaving been found to produce extremely satisfactory results when used inconnection with steam heating furnaces in dwellings, and for this reasonsuch a furnace is illustrated. in .the drawings herein in :which thenumeral 5 indicates -a portion of-a furnace. having a damperfi to.control entrance of air to the ash pit, this-damper being of the flaptype and located on the side of the furnace. The numeral 7 indicates alever common to furnaces of this type and that is operated by -means ofsteam pressureto regulate conditionsattending the running of thefurnace, and which lever in its operation is raised and lowered in amanner readily understood by those skilled in theart, and therefore, itwill be understoodthat the'apparatus thus far ,described is 'notoriginal with me.

My, improved apparatus comprisesin its construction a safety device 8,styled. in the claims herein as -a controller that may be movably.mounted i to operate in various ways,'as herein shown this movementbeing provided for by pivotallyattaching .thecontroller at one end .to abase 9 supported in any desirable manner, as by a po'st l O; The dampermay be opened by various agencies operated manually or-otherwise, andwhen ever opened it is so connected with the controller that the latterwill operate to close it under predetermined conditions as they arise. V

In the apparatus aS disclosed herein a spring projected latch bolt 11(see Fig. 9) is slidably mounted to engage the controller 8 and hold itin its set positiomand the latter is raised to this set position bymeans'of a controller setting device. 12 secured to a flexible member,as a cord or chain 13, that passes loosely through a vhole in thecontroller so that it may have a limited movement. independentlythereof. The setting device is of a size to prevent its passage throughthe hole in the controller, consequently when the cord is pulledupwardly, after it has moved to a limited extent independently of thecontroller the setting device will engage the under side of thecontroller and move it upwardly to be engaged and held by the latch bolt11. This bolt may be operated to release the controller at anpredetermined time by mechanism various y arranged, a convenient meansto this end, when the apparatus is used in connection with a steamheating furnace, comprisin a bolt actuating lever 14 pivotally attac edat one end to the base 9 and o oei'atiyelycbnnec'ted with the safetylever 7 and alsoconnected with the latch bolt 11 as by meansof aflexible device 15 said bolt being housed a eiierate'd by thefurnnce,'which operation,

if showed to continue, wouldraise the heat to an un'comfortable degreezund'would also be asource of danger, and the controller, therefore,serves its purpose at such times'by causingthe damper to be closed underprede ter'mined conditions ferred to. v V

f The cord 13 is rovided with extensible sections 1818",- onebeinglocated above; the controller, preferably near the cetches 16, andthe other being loczited 'belov'v the controller, springs beingillustrated herein as the extensible e1ements.""The s'ectiOnIS willallow the cord 13* to 'stretch topern' itthe controller to moredownwardly to close the damper when the controller is'releas'edk F Thedevice thus'far described provides means whereby the dampers 'in'ajfurnace may be maintained "in jjosition to shut off the draft untilsuch time as more heat may be required. f The'cord 13 may extend torooms to be heated by'the furnace and to a eonvenientlocntion therein,and when it is de sired to increase the heat'th'e damper may be openedby pulling up the cord sufliciently'to set the controller, after whichsettingope'ration oneof the catches m be engaged with the holder 17toretain the damper open to the extent required; When the-heat hasbeenralis'e'd to apredetermined degree the damper will be closed byrelease of thecontroller by the meaiis'herein shown or byany othersuitable means, and I prefer to employ a spring 77 to aid the movementof the controller when released. The damper may be held open byelectrically released means to he hereinafter described.

Theinvention thus far described relates to the safety mechanismcomprising one part as *hereinbeifore reof my improved apparatus andthat operates to close the damper before the fire has increasedtheheatunduly, and this isof special 'eavamage "in connection with thatpart of myinventiorr comprising time controlled appermsfor automaticallyopening the dem erf under predetermined conditions. This apparatuscomprises a,- retainer 19 (see pended from thecdam per 6. A

igslO. and 11) that may be released in var ous ways and at the propertime to perrmfi the dam {3hr dfJEIi'. "A satisfactory arra ngement to eQCLJLhiS result comprises a pivoted leveri' hitting as said retainer, inthe construction shown this lever ha ving a hook to engage a ring as ona cord 20 susdamper trip 21 is pivotally mounted to engage the retainerhold it in position to lreep the damper closed'against aforce eierted toopehj-the damper. The operation of this trip may be ebnitrolled in'variou's w'ys, an electrical apparatus being shown herein. for accomplshing this purpose, this apparutns omprising adamper 0 en-mg magnet 22adaptedgwhen eriergized, ts attract audemper triprelease 23 in the formof a pivoted iervr that undefliesthe end of the dampertrip 21 whenthelatten'is 'set' and retams'it in this position to Assist inholdingthe damper closed. Thd'eleotfic circuit for operating this 1 magnet maybe ontrolled in any suitable manner throughtm agency of ai time piece24", electric current passing-through the pbsitNewi're25-of a damperreleasing 'cir'c'u'it, extendin generally speaking, from one pole of aighrhary: battery 26i.to amontaet 34011 the; damper trip* 21-, thenoe'toa contfiaot on the" damper trip release 28; (wheii the fiarts are set'tohold thedanhpet tlin 'thrdugn wfire so -w the magnet 22 and from saidmagnet one sectioir27- of a negative wireftd the timpiec'e '24, and fromthenceby the other se'ctioh =28 of :the negative wire to the otherpoieof said battery; '1

' A satis faetofy formofswi tch device cdmprises a switeh barrleasinglevel-:29 held iii set position by means of a key 30 of thea'larm of thetimepiece 24', the other end of the lever "engaging 'a -s ring pressedswitch Ija'r31 to* which the ire 27 is connected and liaving' e'contentto =engage a contact to which the Wire 28 is connected-rThefinec'hanisni thus -fa'r described? provides in'eanswherebythe dampermay b'e'auloo IUD

tomatically opened atany predetermined i timejand whereby it may beclosed to avoid too high a degree'of heatwithin thefin mice, theiipp'aratus'operating asfolloivs'z T Assuming that the damper is to beopened at a certain-time in the rl ianner above described before therising hour, the cord13 Wlll be'secured at its upper end, as shownindotted lines in Fig."'l of the drawings; end the damper will be closedby engagement of the ring on tli eGI-WQO W-ith'the hook 5 on theretainer 19, the damfier trip 21 being-placed ineontact with $11 andheld in this position by meansot "the damper trip release 23, the partsbeingth us manually set. The extensible section or sprint; '18 willpermit"the damper torbe sary strain upon the extensiblesection 118,

d retainer closed as above-"described, without unneoes which strainmaybe caused, under certain conditions, by friction, caused by thearrangement of the cord =13 in extendingit to places remote from thefurnace. Ilhe switch bar 31 will be moved against pressure of a spring90 into engagement with the/switch bar releasing lever'29 that will restin contact with one side of the key 30, the alarm of the time piece 24having beenset for release at say five'oclock. "When the alarm'is'released the key in its turning movementreleases the lever 29, which inturn'releases the switch bar 31' and the spring of said bar throws itagainst the contact 32,-closing the circuit at this point andcompletingthe electric circuit thereby energizing the magnet 22. 1 Themagnet is thus caused to 'swin'g the trip release '23 from engagement'with the damper trip '2l 'allou ing the latter to freely moveandthereby disengage the-retainer 19 that is pulled upwardly by the openingmovement of'the damper which is causedby the tension of one'orboth ofthe extensible sections'in the cord '13. When-the retainer is movedupwardly to a sufiicient'extent the ring on the cord 20 willbe pulled,from engagement with the hook on the retainer and the latter will falland all parts will assume the position shown in Fig. 1015 the drawin(except that the damper will, of course, i e open)." a V In the above o)eration it will be seen that a'n-"electric circui has beenestablished,and, further, that the circuit will be broken when the damper trip andthe damper trip release separate after the partshaveoperated as abovedescribed, it 'beingunderstood that the parts will be suitably insulatedin a manner that will be readily understood by those skilled in the artso that current will pass along the course intended.

My improved apparatus comprises means for automatically opening thedamper. In the'device shown there is embodied spring actuated mechanismof any ordinary and wellknown construction located in a case 35 andincluding a pendulum rod 37 connected in any ordinary manner with saidmechanism to have its movement accelerated thereby and supporting apendulum 38 having a pendulumtrip 39'electrically controlled to makecontact with a" driving wheel 40 of a driving mechanism, said drivingwheel bein connected as by means of bevel gears 41 and 42 with a=drum 43adapted to receive a flexihle connection as a cord 16 attached tothecord 13 and forming a part of saidcord 13. I A, preferred means forcontrolling operation of the trip 39 is a thermostat T electricallyconnected with the primary battery 26. This thermostat may be of anywell known construction and further and detailed description is,therefore, omitted herein. When the thermostat is set, say atseventy-one degrees, to effect opening move ment of the damper thecurrent passes by positive batter wire 45, having its end wound aroundhe'p'endulum rodgfromuthe battery'26 to a magnet 46, as shown in Figs. 1and 3 of thedrawi'ngs, and therefrom by magnet wire 47; having its endwound around the pendulum' to apawl operating magnet 48, through saidmagnet-and by wire 49 toa'make and break-devioe ina case 36 (seethedetail showing inFig.=9.) and-ineluding a terminal Stadapted to make contact with a blade 85' movably mounted on 'a blade actuator '86electrically connected by wire 87 with wire 50 that extends to and isconnected with'a make and break device at a terminal 51,:an'd throughthe circuit thus established,-to said terminal fil the'llilttel' be.-i-ng located 'in a'icase :88 placed in'proximity to the damper 61 Thislast mentioned make and break de'vi'ce (see the detailshowing in Fig. 6)ispperatedbyithe damper ratlthe conclusion ofits opening movement and atthe beginning offits closing movement, :and it includes the terminal '51cofiperatin with a blade 52 attached tea-spring pressef make and break:mem'b'er 53 positioned togber op erated by the dampeiyas abovementioned. The electricwircuit, before the dam er is raised'totheposition shown in dotte lines in Fig. 5, and 'when the; :blade 52,therefore, is in contact with the'terminal 51 passes from said terminalithrough' the blade 52; to contact 65 and -:lrom thence-by wires 5i and55 through damper trip contact .56 and wire 57 to.theithermostatandthencetby.wire 58 to the battery 26.

' When the apparatus is set foropening operation of the :damper by "thetime device,

this circuit will be broken at the contact 56 and the thermostaticcontrol will then be ineflective. a 1 I In the operation of that part ofthe appar'atusjust described-the energizing of the magnet 46 draws thetrip 39 intocontact therewith and the'end of the trip is (then in.position tOStIikE the fingers 59. of the-driving wheel 4O.- the end of.saidtripjbeing made, flexible ais'bya pivoted,spring actuated sec tion,which willbe-readily understoodfrom an examination-of Fig.4 of ztdledrawings, this construction'causing the wheel 40 to be rotatedbythe tripas the pendulum swings in'one directionvth'e pivoted section of the tripyielding topermit it to pass the fingers as the pendulum swings in theopposite direction. The trip is forced away from the magnet as by aspring 60. It will be un( er stood that the pendulum is in continuous operation. The current also energizes the magnet 48 that draws a'pawl 61into contact with said magnet, this pawl operating against a ratchetwheel 62 having teeth formed in the usual manner and inclined toward andadapted to engage the pawl to prevent backward movement of the drum 4:3

I i as the cord 13 is wound thereon, a spring 4-41 (see Fig. 1)operating to draw the pawl away from the ratchet wheel when the magnetis cleenergized. The pawl may be of any suitable construction havinglittle friction by contact with the teeth of the ratchet wheel. As thedamper (3 reaches its upper mostposition, as shown in dotted lines inFig. 6, the member 53 is operated to break the circuit; the magnetshereinabovc do scribed are deenergized; the trip 39 is withdrawn by itsspring-from thepath of the fingers 59; the pawl 61 is withdrawn by itsspring from engagement'with the ratchet 62, and the drum is, therefore,free to unwind; a-detent '63 snaps into holding position to retain'thedamper raised, and the opening operation! of the damper ceases. Thedamper in its upward movement is arranged to encounterthe damper openingdetent 63 that may be in the form of a spring pressed latch bolt'that ispressed back by the damper in'itsupward movement and that is pressedoutwardly, when the damper has passed. intoits path of downward movementto hold it in its raised or open position, as shovvn in Fig. 6' ofthedrawings.

In the operation above described should the make and break at'51 fail tooperate upon "the full opening ofthe damper the motor willcontinucxoperation to raise the controller and the circuit will,therefore, be broken at 84 when'the controller 8 i's 'fu'l'ly closed,this closed position being determined by a stop '67. The object ofthe'make and break at the controller is to provide for an emergency,namely, the failure of the make and break 51 at the damper to operate.

properly to stop the action of the driving wheels. When the controller 8is closed the make and break at 34. shuts off the damper openingcircuit.

The cord 13 is so adjusted that the full opening of the damper by thecord 13 does not fully close the controller 8. The'damper cannotriseabove the detent 63 except su-fiiciently to give easy play to movementof the detent and the damper is prevented from so rising by the contactof fixed stops and 71.

In the normal operation of this safety mechanism a spring 77 will alwaysoperate to swing the controller -8 to a wide open position, and it is,therefore, this controller that unwinds the drum 43 even though thedamper remains open and supported by its detent 63.

If for any reason the cord 13 should be raised so as to completely closethe controller 8 and hold the damper open while the thermostat wasoperating also, the lever 7 would withdraw the latch 11 in due seasonand release the controller 8. The thermostat being free to work wouldhave energized, in a manner hereinafter described, a magnet 73 towithdraw the detent 63 and release the damper-and the controller would;then compel the unwinding otthe drum 43. in case the weight of thedamper had failed to do sobefore;

A contingency, thoughiremote, has been provided foijas follows: i

Obviously should the battery give out whenthe damper is heldwpeni by thedetent 63- ;the operation oi -the controller by the safetyilev er 7-and'its consequent downward, movement would release OI'MlStIQCClI the cord1-3but the damper beingi held fast by thedetent 63 could not close. 1Therefore, I introduce a small secondary battery 76 and establish forits operation the following circuit: ,:-W-ire,. 72 ,eXtondsfrombneQPQIof said batte'ryto a contact I? 9 ,intheuc'ase 36-adap ed-to'ibe struckby a'contaot 80 on theboltgll. A wire 68- extends --from' the entact:80" to a contact 66 arrangefd-ito engage blade 52, adaptedto be'movedinto contact with a conductor;78 oIr the-damper releasi ng magnet 73. -Awirefltconnects saidtmagnet with the opposite-pole of saidfibattery andalso with the wiiferffi thattis joined tothe wire 74. The-efl'eetof aprolonged'foonnection be tweenithe contacts'fill and 80 Owingto-pressure on "the lovers 7 a'ndi14 will be destroyed by the breakbetweencentaec (SQ-and blade 52 when the damper moves from its: openposition. r. rwii'nic if mVVhenitlie damper ishefld inits open position,as 'hereinbefore described the thermostat, responding to the risingvtemperature, will establish aidsamper closing circuit from the battery26 by. wire 64: to wire 68, contact 66, blade'52g mn'duotor'78 to thedamper releasing magnet Ill-through said magnet and by wire 74 to wire55, contact 56, wires 57 and to the thermostat and wire 58 to thebatterykx The member 53 is spring pressed into the path of movement of aroller on the damper,zas' shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. Thedamperrelease '73 :85 herein shown is in the formof assolen'oid, the coreoftwhich rigidly; secured to the, detent 631 Y The electric currentthusestablished, energizin the damper release 73 withdraws the dam r tofall to-, its-closed position, in whichmovement it breaks the circuit between the-bladei2 and, the contact .66 and between said blade and-theconductor-t 78. In falling, however, .the Ilamperreestablishes aconnection Fat the terminal 51 and blade 52, so thatthe flowofi electriccurrent may again take place when the thermostat ma cs an electricconnection at the terminal therein of the wire'57,-whe n the actionhereinbefore described will again take place to open the damper. it i Inaccordance withthe provisions of the patent statutes, I have describedthe principles of operation of my invention, together etent -63,permitting thef,l15

with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodimentthereof; but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown isonly illustrative, and that the invention may be carried out by othermeans.

In the installation of my improved apparatus the conditions with respectto the kind of heating device, the relative location 0 parts of myimproved apparatus with respect to such heating devlce, and to eachother, &c., the arrangement herein shown will not be strictly adheredto, but will be changed as the conditions may suggest or as may bedesired, and this is especially true with respect to the mechanicalarrangement for opening the damper, and I do not, therefore, limit myinvention to any special mechanical arrangement for accomplishing thispurpose, as any type of motor employing power to open the damper may beutilized and yet be within the spirit and intent of the invention.

I claim-- 1. A damper operating device including a controller, means forretaining the controller in a set position, means for releasing saidretaining means, a damper, a connection extending from the damperthrough the controller and loosely engaging the latter, said connectioncomprising a resilient member, a stop on said connection to engage thecontroller for raising purposes, means for holding the damper in aclosed position, and means for releasing said retaining means.

2. A damper operating device including a controller, a damper, means forsetting the controller, said means extending loosely through thecontroller and being connected to the damper, a stop on said settingmeans to engage the controller for settin purposes, means for securingsaid setting means in set position, means for holding the controller inset position, and means for releasing said holding means.

3. A damper operating device including a controller, a damper, a settingdevice passing loosely through the controller and attached to thedamper, a stop on said setting device to engage the controller to moveit to set" position, means for securing the setting device, a resilientmember comprised in said setting device, means for holding it in setposition, and means for releasing said holding means.

l. A damper operating a controller, a damper, a setting device extending loosely through the controller and secured to the damper, aresilient member comprised in said setting device between the controllerand damper, a stop on said setting device to engage the controller,means for forcing the controller from set position, means for securingthe setting device, a resilient member comprising a part of the settingdevice near said securing point, means for retaining the controller inset position, and means for releasing said retaining means.

5. A damper operating device including a controller, means for retainingthe coin troller in a closed position means operated by a rise intemperature or releasing said retaining means, a damper connected withthe controller and supported in an open position, means exerting forceupon the damper to open it, means for holding the damper in a closedposition, and a time piece operatively connected with said holdmg deviceincluding means to release 1t for opening move ment of the damper.

6. A damper operating device including a controller, means for retainingthe controller in a set position, means operated by a rise intemperature for releasing said retaining means, a damper, controlleroperating means extending loosely through the controller and connectedwith the damper, a stop attached to the controller operating means toengage the controller for opening movement thereof, a resilientconnection between the damper and controller, means exerting force uponthe damper to open it, means for holding the damper in a closedposition, and a time piece operatively connected with said holding meansto release it for opening movement of the damper.

FRANK M. FITCH.

